


Comfort Food

by CaptainTrashman



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Babby's First Fic, Dreams and Nightmares, Everything is Going to be Ok, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forgiveness, Gen, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Other, POV Second Person (I think), Past Character Death, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Post-Good Ending (OMORI), i dunno what im doing, no beta we die, past traumas, pls go easy on me, this game has left me with emotional wounds and a case of brainrot, this is the first time ive used this site, will add more tags if needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29294799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainTrashman/pseuds/CaptainTrashman
Summary: Sunny ends up being hospitalized after the events of the good ending due to the fact that he is SEVERELY malnourished. The residents of Faraway come to visit him in the hospital with food to help him get his strength back up. Feels ensue. Possibly romance.(Slight Disclaimer: I've never actually written a fanfic before. I tend to have lots of ideas but I never write them down so they just disappear. This is not one of those times. Hopefully you'll like it. :D)
Relationships: Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Aubrey/Basil/Kel/Sunny/Kim (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI), Mari & Sunny (OMORI), Omori & Sunny (OMORI), Who knows I don't I'm indecisive so I just put all of them here lol
Comments: 76
Kudos: 428





	1. Epilogue to Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hope I did this right, and enjoy the fic!

“Welcome to White Space. You’ve been living here as long as you can remember.” You think to yourself half-jokingly. It’s been at least a week since you’ve been here actually. Stuck in a hospital bed, in a hospital room, in a hospital, in a faraway town called Faraway. You were supposed to move out to a new town, a new life, a new start a week ago. Your friends and life however, had other plans.

It was a week ago that you finally started to face your demons. That you finally took one shaky step forwards to the truth you had been holding onto for four years. At first, you were just rotting away in a tomb of your own making, surrounded by the shadows of your past sins. Content to just...waste away for your crimes against your friends and your sister. Had it not been for Kel, you would have, but something inside you desperately wanted to reach out. To make what was wrong, right again.

It was a week ago that you reconnected bridges you thought long since burnt away. Reconnecting with your old friends. Healing old wounds (that you left) before the day of your move from your hometown to a city where no one would know who you are, what you did, or why you did it. The more you reconnected the old threads of your childhood friendships, the more that thought terrified you. More than any sort of height, or arachnid, or body of water could ever inflict on you. You were terrified of letting this secret die with you.

It was a week ago that you fought Basil. Stuck in his room the night before the move. Just you, him, and the suffocating presence of...Something. It tore at you, and at him, and then you tore at each other. To be honest, it’s hard to remember that night. Where reality dissolved into pure insanity. All that you can be sure of that made that night real is the patch over your eye. The doctors still don’t know if it’ll ever heal properly. Maybe it never will. But it was a small price to pay to save your friend.

It was a week ago that you came face to face with your inner self. Wrestling against the desire to protect your fragile heart, and the desire to break free from your thick, protective, impassive shell and change. Every word, every cut, every blow against you was nothing you could ever expect, and yet at the same time, it was completely expected. It wasn’t something you hadn’t already told yourself for the past four years. It wasn’t something you hadn’t already done to your physical form. You knew that these things were inside you all along. It hurt. You hated it. You hated yourself. You just wanted to curl into a ball and die. But you didn’t. You persisted. You cherished the words of your friends. You held on and rose to face yourself. And when the dust settled within you felt...serene. Like a calm before the storm. You knew what you had to do.

It was a week ago that you rose from your hospital bed for the first time. Slowly, shakily, but steadily, making your way to the next room. You knew what you had to do. You only wished you could have done it sooner. That you were stronger, a better person, something...anything other than what you were. But finally, you were enough. Pushing past the door, into your friend’s room. Surrounded by your other friends. With a hoarse whisper, your vocal chords rough and dry from years of unuse, you got their attention when you finally said; “I have to tell you something…”

It was a week ago that you told the truth. It was everything you feared, everything you hoped for, everything you deserved, and everything you didn’t deserve. You told Hero, Aubrey, and Kel all the details you could recall. Every bitter feeling ever held, every angry word ever said, and every horrible action committed that awful day. Your lungs heaved with effort and your eye could no longer see past the tears that would not stop coming. You didn’t want to cry that day, you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t deserve to feel sorry for yourself. Not after what you had done to Mari and your friends. Your ears rang with the heavy beating of your heart and at some point your voice had picked up from a soft whisper to a furious scream. You had no idea how your friends were reacting. You didn’t know if they hated you, pitied you, loved you, or whatever, because when you were finished...you collapsed into a heap on the floor. But it was done. You finally said it. You barely made out your friends rushing to your side before the blackness took you into unconsciousness. 

It was a week ago that the doctors told your mother that you needed to stay in the hospital longer. You were severely malnourished. Not surprising. You barely ate alone in your house. Subsisting mostly on tap water and excessive amounts of sleeping. Anything to escape from what you did. Whenever you did try to eat, because the hunger pangs would not let you go quietly into Headspace, it always came right back up. Your body would reject any sort of nourishment. It just couldn’t handle the intensive project of digestion, and at the time, you were just too tired to care.

It was a week ago that your friends worked to convince your mother to cancel the move. They begged, pleaded, bargained with her (Or in Aubrey’s case, had Hero not stopped her immediately, almost threatened her…). Now that these wounds that had never properly healed were opened, there was an opportunity to finally try and go back to normal. Things would never be the same, not after what you did. Not after what Basil did. Not after what you did together. But your friends were not going to let you go like this. Not now since the truth has finally come out. Eventually, she agreed with them. It would take some work, and a lot of papers to shuffle around, but it looked like you would be staying in Faraway for the foreseeable future.

Maybe it was some form of ironic punishment, to be stuck here in Faraway. Under the watchful eyes of your friends, or wardens in a sense. Maybe they didn’t want you to get off so easily. To just escape from your past and your crimes. Maybe...but those thoughts were quickly chased off when they first came to visit. There was a sadness in their eyes, but also happiness...and forgiveness? You didn’t understand. You couldn’t. Why would they forgive you? You tore them apart from each other. You took away their best friend, and for Hero...his one true love. So why did they look so sad? Why did they look so happy to see you? Why did they look like they had their own demons that they were facing? You didn’t understand. You couldn’t understand. You wanted them to hate you, you deserved it. You all spent a long night together, crying and holding each other. For once in the past four years, everything felt like it was going to be ok.

And now you’re here. In a white room. Surrounded by all sorts of flowers from your friends, and the locals who you helped out during the summer a week ago. The steady sounds of hospital equipment is the only thing audible right now. You’re bored...but you think one of your friends is coming to visit later…


	2. Rise of The Bread Brigade!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm the motherfucking manager!"  
> "At the bread store?"  
> "BREAD!"

171 tiles. There are approximately 171 tiles on the ceiling of your hospital room. You counted them yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that. Part of you wonders why you haven’t gone crazy yet, but then again, you were already crazy for the past 4 years. You wish you had one of those new “cell phones” you heard about a week ago. You wish you could just call and TALK to someone because you are SO BORED. You’d probably ask Kel to bring you your GameGuy so you’d have something to do other than count ceiling tiles. Maybe tomorrow you’ll count the number of tiles on the floor.

“Ohoooooo~” That’s funny...You could have sworn you heard something. An almost...familiar sound. You swear you’ve heard it before, but you can’t quite remember where you heard it. The almost non-sound evoked memories of a vast sprawling desert, full of secrets and wonders. Mysteries and peril. And food. You were hungry...but at the same time, not? It’s hard to work up any sort of appetite when the food in the hospital is so...bland.  
“Ohoooooooo~!” Ok...you definitely aren’t hearing things. That sound was getting closer. Where have you heard that cry before? For once, your mind feels stimulated trying to solve this sudden mystery put upon you. It’s on the tip of your tongue. You suddenly feel a craving for...fresh bread? Why would you want fresh bread right now? Have you always been this hungry? Why does it smell like the bakery section in Othermart right now?

“OhOOOoOOooOOOoO~!” BAM! The door to your hospital room flies open! The room is overpowered with the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries! And then you remember. Deep within the sandy depths of an oasis was a temple dedicated to serving fresh bread to the world of the living by two gods of the unbread. Every day for them; fresh bread, fresh bread! It would be their fate from their inception to the end of time! Fresh bread now and forever! Until a group of brave adventurers released them from their eternal vigil! Now they wander the world of the living, bringing with them fresh bread wherever they go! They are THE BREAD BRIGADE!

Or at least, that’s what your still overactive imagination tells you. In reality, it's Daphne, Bowen and...The Maverick? Or wait, no, Mikhael. You will never EVER call him The Maverick. The two twins have their eternal poker faces on as they enter your room. If anyone could rival your poker face, it would be them. Mikhael looks like he wants to be anywhere but here right now. He’s also not wearing his blonde wig. That’s a first. Daphne and Bowen carry with them two bags full of...fresh bread. Your mouth waters at the sight.

“Hello New Friend.” Says Daphne in her trademark dead-pan voice. “We heard you have been stuck in the hospital lately.” 

“You were so nice to us last week.” Says Bowen, also dead-pan. “Playing with us when our little brother Mikhael couldn’t.”

Mikhael says nothing...just mutters under his breath.

“Now Mikhael.” Daphne chides “If you want to get into the family business, you need to speak up!”

“Yes little brother. It is important to show that you care about your customer.” Says Bowen.

Mikhael sighs. You can sense the exhaustion in his body language. Part of you thinks that deep down, he really does care about his older twin siblings. Another part of you realizes that sometimes, family can drive you crazy, even if they don’t mean to. After a short pause, Mikhael works up his best “customer service” smile and says. “Behold, young acolyte! We noble and humble baker’s children bring you gifts for a speedy recovery! Partake in our bounty so that thou mayest rise again from the ashes, stronger than before!”

Daphne and Bowen clap after Mikhael’s little speech. You do too. Honestly, it’s impressive how he just came up with that on the fly. Maybe he could be a writer someday. “Very good little brother!” Bowen exclaims, the brotherly pride just radiating from him. Even with his poker face, you can tell he’s super proud of his little brother. “Yes indeed. You did very well for your first delivery job. Mother and Father will be happy to see you taking this job so seriously.” Daphne spoke, fawning over her little brother like older sisters are wont to do. (You miss her...it’s like looking in a mirror of what could have been. But she wouldn’t want you to be sad, you know this now.)

Mikhael blushes, and coughs a little, he didn’t expect to be given such praise. Maybe he’s really cut out for this bakery business after all. “A-Anyways!” He stutters “Please, partake young acolyte. We first bring you a fresh loaf of pumpernickel bread. Dark as the night sky.” Still blushing, he places a loaf of dark brown bread on your hospital tray. It smells...really good. Dark and earthy almost.

“Don’t hold back on our account new friend.” Spoke Bowen. “We understand that you have not been properly fed in a while. We would not judge a starving boy for his manners if he was hungry.” Daphne nods. “Indeed brother. But first, we should say Grace, should we not?” “Indeed.” Replied Bowen. “It would only be proper. Come Mikhael, join us.”

You can barely make out Mikhael suppressing a groan. He clearly doesn’t want to do this. So you take the initiative to make it less awkward for him. “A-actually,” You manage to mutter out in your hoarse voice, “I would...appreciate it if I could join in t-too.” You never liked doing this back when your family was still whole. It was just an extra step that got in the way of you and your meal during dinner. Mari understood, she was perceptive like that. She would sneak you something like a dinner roll to hold you over before the prayer started. Maybe if Mikhael had someone to relate to like you did, he would feel less awkward?

He blinks and then nods. Seeming to grasp what you are trying to subtly tell him. You all gather around the loaf of bread, heads bowed in prayer and hands clasped together. Daphne and Bowen lead, the prayer ingrained into their memories like it was second nature to them. Mikhael kept up too, despite how hard he tries to distance himself as an individual, his family still has had an effect on how he grew up to be. You try to keep up, but the words are too fast and your unused vocal chords are still too tired to keep up. The three siblings would always wait for you to catch your breath though. Eventually, the prayer was finished.

“Now that we have said Grace, please hel--” Bowens' words were promptly interrupted by the sound of you tearing into the pumpernickel loaf. After a week of bland, flavorless, textureless hospital food, you finally had something you could actually enjoy. The dark bread was soft, with a rich and slightly bitter taste to it. You could have sworn that there was the slightest hint of a taste of chocolate in it. It was still warm too. It must have been freshly made, and given just enough time to cool so you could eat it during their journey from Othermart to the hospital. In seemingly an instant, it was gone. It was, perhaps, the best thing you’ve ever had.

The three siblings look on at you with a slight look of horror. You blink your one eye. You realize that maybe devouring an entire loaf of bread like a rabid dog may have looked a little...frightening.

“sorry…” you mumble out, cheeks turning bright red. The room is filled with laughter after your apology. “It just means that we have made something wonderful if you ate it with such fervor!” Daphne says. For the first time, her usual poker face is broken. It’s strange to see, but it’s nice. “You clearly must have been hungry.” Bowen stated. “You could have told us to skip Grace, we are not so strict that we would keep your daily bread out of reach!”  
Mikhael seems to also be embarrassed. Whether it’s second hand from you or something else entirely, you’ll never really know. The two of you share a silent nod in solidarity.

The rest of the day, you spend with the Bread Brigade. They’re actually quite knowledgeable about the various kinds of breads, baking methods to said breads, and all sorts of bread trivia. It beats counting tiles all day. If you're not talking about bread, you and Mikhael talk about things most normal teenagers talk about. Like Captain Spaceboy comics and video games, or Pet Rocks.

Eventually, visiting hours are over. They bid you farewell and leave some more bread with you so that you can build up your strength again. It was nice to have company, even from people you would have never expected to see. That night, your dreams are filled with bready adventures and mysteries.


	3. Sunrise to a Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suntan trash ahoy! I've never done shipping writing so here's to a first!  
> This is also my first(?) attempt at doing something angsty...if only a little.  
> Hope you like it at least! :D
> 
> Also thank you to Gen3king and the Omori discord for the title and getting me inspired to write! I never said that earlier but I'm saying it now!
> 
> (ALSO I'M PROBABLY GONNA JUST HAVE THEM ALL GET TOGETHER BECAUSE REASONS. I WANT MY CHILDREN TO BE HAPPY.)

There’s a feeling of tension in the air today. You can’t really explain it, but everything feels on edge. The calm before the inevitable storm. It’s a sensation you were used to for the past four years but after everything that happened last week, it’s become a foreign sensation to you. You’ll have to face...whatever the world is going to throw at you today. You made the choice to face whatever comes after your struggle with Omori. There can be no retreat, never again, you don’t want to imagine another second of withdrawing into your shell again. It’s scary and you feel so vulnerable, but you would rather feel everything than feel nothing like you used to. You steel yourself, giving yourself little encouragements to keep the sensation at bay, if only for a little while.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* You jump a little in your hospital bed, startled out of your daze. Someone’s come to visit. You wonder who. Maybe Daphne and Bowen and Mikhael wanted to bring you more bread. You already ate what they left. “C-come in…” you say, trying your best to be loud enough. After the words left your mouth, the door swung open. You realized why you felt so tense. Today was going to be...a long day.

Kel. He came to visit. Smiling that beatific smile of his. That same smile that he always had, brightening the dark spots of your life. He was a neverending font of positivity. A rock you could always rely on. I-is it hot in here all of a sudden? You feel warm. It’s warm. Gosh was he always so tall and tan and perfect and--

“Helloooo? Sunny? Earth to Sunny? You okay dude?” You snap out of your trance when you hear him talk to you. “I’m...fine.” You manage to whisper out. 

“That’s good man! I was worried for a moment there, you looked like you had a fever or something! Glad you’re ok!” That smile of his creeping back onto his face. With those perfect lips of his, gosh you wanted to--

“A-anyways! What are you doing here Kel?” You brush those thoughts aside. Even if you feel that way, even if he feels that way, you know it could never be. Not after...what you did.

“I need a reason to see my bestest buddy in the hospital? Come on man, you don’t have to act like we’re strangers all of a sudden! I was worried about you!” Kel states

Kel. Worried. About you. Gosh. You swallow those emotions as quick as they come. “I-I...thank you.” You manage to stutter out.

“You sure you’re ok man? You still look kinda red. Should I come back tomorrow?” Kel looks concerned. If he only knew the amount of shame and embarrassment you were feeling right now.

“I’m...ok! Just a little warm! Please don’t leave, you came...all this way.” You try to put on your best smile, the one that doesn’t make you look like a manic mess.

“Well...ok! If you insist!” Kel walks over and promptly plops himself on a chair right next to your bed.  
“So....how are things? You’ve been gettin’ any exercise while you’ve been stuck in here?” Kel asks, testing the waters with small talk.

“I’ve...been better. Not great, but better.” You take a second to gather your thoughts. “I’ve been going to...physical therapy since I’ve been here. The doctors were shocked at the state of my body.”

“Good! That’s good!” Kel chirps “You gotta get your strength up while you’re here! How else are you gonna keep up when I take you to play basketball with me when you get out?”

He wants you to play basketball with him? Just the two of you? On the court all sweaty and...gosh...is he asking you out? No, that’s stupid, of course not. Shut up brain, there’s no way. He’s just being nice because he’s Kel. He’d probably ditch you if he could but he won’t because he’s too nice.

“Hey man...are you alright? You’ve been staring off into space a lot since I got here. Like, more than usual...Do you need to talk about it?” That look. That look of his. The concern on his face. Why? You don’t deserve it. You’re a murderer and a liar. You tortured him for four years. He shouldn’t look at you like that. Why is he here? Why does he care? Goddammit WHY can’t you just say something??

You stutter and struggle, trying to get the words out but you choke on them. You want to hide, but there’s nowhere to go. You want to run, but your legs won’t move. Dammit dammit dammit dammit. It’s just like that day. You’re pathetic.

Kel, as if sensing your struggle, does the best thing a Kel could do at a time like this. He pulls you into a bear hug. The thoughts...silence themselves, if only for a while. The sound of his breathing, the beat of his heart in his chest. It’s...calming. It reminds you of her...of Mari. She would do this too when the thoughts were too fast and you were struggling to stay afloat in the maelstrom. “Hey. It’s alright. You got this. I’m here. Shh.” He keeps whispering calming words to you. 

“I don’t...understand.” You finally manage to squeak out. “Why?”

“Because we’re friends ya dingus!” He says back with that same smile on his face.

“But why?? I’ve hurt you. I’ve hurt everyone! Wouldn’t it be easier to just leave me alone?!” You’re so confused. Consumed by thoughts of friendship and love and hate and scorn and memories of summer and childhood and a whole slew of emotions.

“Listen. I promised you we’d be there for each other. I wasn’t for you then, but I’m gonna be there now. There isn’t a thing in the world that would keep us apart.” You can see the tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “You may have hurt me and the others, but you’ve also been hurting yourself. I didn’t even think for a second that what you did four years ago you did out of hate.”

You’re a sobbing mess. Goddammit you don’t deserve him. “It’s ok.” He says. “It’s all gonna be ok. Let’s try some breathing exercises that Hero showed me, ok?”

“Ok.” You nod. The two of you spend a good time, just breathing. Listening to each other’s breathing and calming down. The tears flowed for a while between the two of you, but eventually, it all settled down.

“You good dude?” He asks with that same gosh danged smile of his. He really is your rock. “Y-yeah...I’m good now.” And then your stomach growls.

There is a brief silence. Then laughter. Kel always laughed the loudest, even when you were kids. “Well shoot man! I guess crying is hungry work huh? Let’s get you some grub!” He starts fishing around in one of his short’s pockets.

“But the hospital food is so bland here…” You complain slightly. “Oh I know, take it from me, a guy who’s been in this hospital for so many sports related injuries you couldn’t imagine! Hospital food sucks. That’s why I’m gonna call Gino’s and get us some of that good stuff.” Kel finally finds what he was looking for. It was a long, red plastic shaped thing…

“What is that?” You ask in near childlike wonder. “This? It’s one of them ‘cell phones’. Mom splurged on a family plan so she could keep in contact with Hero when he goes back to college so we all got one!”

Pushing the buttons on the phone, Kel makes a call.

“Hello, this is Gino’s and for the last FUCKING time this is NOT THE KRUSTY KRAB!”

“What are you talking about?” Kel asks “I just want to order something for me and my friend.”

“Oh, I’m sorry sir! We’ve been getting a lot of prank calls lately. What can I get you?”

“Yeah can I get a….” Kel looks at you  
“Get a meat lovers pizza. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” You whisper.  
“My man.” he whispers back “One Meat Lovers Pizza, Large. With a large bottle of Orange Joe and two cookies please? Name’s Kel.”

“One Meat Lovers large with a large OJ and two cookies. Will that be all sir?”

“Yeah that should be good. Just bring it to the hospital, I’ll be out front.”  
“We...we don’t deliver to the hospital sir.”  
“Oh…” Kel looks stumped for a moment. “Alright, I’ll come get it.”  
“Thank you sir! Your total price will be $XX.XX. We will see you shortly!”

“Alright, new plan. I’m gonna run over to Gino’s, get the stuff, and bring it back here. It’s foolproof!” Kel says without missing a beat.

“Do you have enough money?” You question, because you have a bad feeling.

“Of course I--” Kel stops mid sentence. He fishes around in his pockets. Then droops his head down in faux-despair.  
“C….can I borrow like, $20? I’ll pay you back. Promise!”

“...It’s in the drawer right next to you.” You say back, with a look of defeat on your face. You’ll never get that 20 back.

“Thanks man. I’ll be back. Count on it!” With that, Kel grabs the 20 and bolts out of the room.

Gosh he is so dumb. He never remembers his wallet and nothing seems to faze him for long. But that’s why you love him. Maybe someday you’ll tell him that. True to his word, he is back, almost alarmingly quickly. You spend the rest of the visiting hours eating the salty bounty from Gino’s while washing it down with the strange beverage that is Orange Joe. For some reason, you think you could get used to drinking Orange Joe a little more now. 

He laughs and you laugh and he tells you stories about how everyone is doing while you listen intently. Today was a rough day, but it ended on a high note. You smile the brightest smile you can when Kel has to leave for the day. You could have sworn he was blushing a little? But that might just be your eyes playing tricks on you in the sunset light. You dream that night. A dream of a large cactus that holds up the sun while you play basketball under its protection with Kel.


	4. Something Behind You (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare chapter! Also anxiety chapter. Basically, this is your warning for bad brain stuff and angst.

You wake with a start. It’s the dead of night. There are no visitors right now. It’s just you, alone...right? Your head is pounding and your vision is blurry. It was just a bad dream. Just a bad dream right? Right. Nothing but a bad dream. It can’t hurt you, it’s not real, it’s not rational, you’re fine. You’re fine…

You’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineYou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineYou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyou’refineyour’refineyou’refine--

You’re not fine. You’re spiralling. Again. Stuck in a tailspin of emotion and anxiety. You know it was just a bad dream but after living a nightmare for the past 4 years, even after your confession, even after starting to see the on call therapist the hospital provides, it’s still hard to shake off the feeling of dread when it starts. Water. You need water. Maybe a cold drink will steady you.

You take a deep breath. 

You FOCUS. 

Then you get up. 

You slowly make your way to the sink on the other side of the room. It’s dark, but you learned how to navigate in near pitch blackness a long time ago. One foot, then the other. Ever so gently, you make your way across the room. Arms out and to the sides, so you can give yourself a small warning before you bump into something. Your right hand taps into a corner and your left touches a wall on the other side. You’re in the entryway before the sink. You made it. Nothing bad happened. You’re fine. Everything is fine.

You make your way in front of the sink. Careful not to look up into the mirror. You’re afraid of mirrors. They’re a lot more frightening than spiders and stairways, but not as terrifying as drowning. They aren’t as scary as they used to be, especially since you’ve faced them with the help of your friends (both within and without), but they still linger in the background from time to time.

Cool water flows from the faucet. You don’t have a cup so you just bend over and drink from it like Kel would. Mom would be appalled by your awful manners if she could see you, but she’s not here. She hasn’t been here for a while. You saw her when you first ended up in the hospital, but she’s been absent since that day. She’s been absent a lot. What with having to work late to keep you supported, and having to re-plan and cancel old plans because of your whole mental breakdown. Not to mention furniture sales that she can’t pass up. 

When was the last time she was home? She used to bring you food and tried to talk to you during the early stages of your self-imposed isolation but over time she became incredibly absent from your life. She still loves you, right? Or is it out of obligation? You’re the only family she’s got, but maybe she realized having a murderer for a son didn’t really feel like family so she just up and left you most of the time. Leaving you little notes to hint at her existence so she could keep you around. To make sure you don’t ever hurt anyone else ever again. Did she know? She knew. You know she knew.

Maybe that’s why your “friends” “forgave” you. It was all a ploy. They’ve known. They’ve always known. They soothe you with sweet honeyed words to keep you placid and calm so that you don’t fly off the handle and kill anyone else that they really care about. They bring you gifts to appease your anger because the last time you were angry you killed someone they cared about. They loved her and you killed her. You’d do it again too, wouldn’t you??

You’re a broken person. 

You’re not even a person. 

You’re a monster.

You wrench your head up from the sink as fast as you can, ignoring the lightheadedness from the sudden movement. You don’t understand what’s going on. You’ve had bad dreams before, but they’ve never shaken you to your core like this. Are you still dreaming? You can’t tell. You feel sick. The world has suddenly become darker and cruel, the warmth of yesterday almost forgotten. Every shadow feels like a finger pointing, accusing you. You can feel thousands of invisible eyes staring down at you in contempt. You hate this. Everything feels heavy and gray. You hate this. You’re tired. Why is this happening again? You’ve made so much progress and now you feel like you’re back at square one. Wiping the tears from your eye, you catch sight of the mirror. 

And then you see it.

There’s Something behind you.

Again.

You flinch, shake your head, and blink. It’s gone. But now something else is there. 

You stare into the mirror.

Omori stares back.


	5. Me, Myself, and I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second Half that continues off of chapter 4. This is the fluffy chaser to the angsty start. I hope you like!

Here he is. Again. Staring at you with those cold, empty eyes of his. If he was even capable of showing emotions, you could swear he was mocking you. A smug look of “I told you you’d be back”, but both you and your shadow were never good at expressing yourselves.

“We both know why I’m here.” Omori states in that hollow tone of his. “Don’t you think it’s time to stop torturing yourself like this?”

You shake your head, violently. Rejecting your doppelganger with all your might.

“Don’t act like that. I just want what’s best for you. That’s why you made me in the first place.” He almost looks sad...almost. “Don’t you understand how much it pains me to watch you stumble through the day, just barely hanging on?”

“Don’t…” you take a deep breath “Don’t you talk...like you suddenly care.”

“But I do care. I’ve always cared.”

“Is that why you told me that I’d be better off dead a week ago??” You whisper-scream at him.

“I said some things in the heat of the moment. I realize I was wrong now. I just want to keep you safe and happy. I’m sorry.” Omori looks off to the side, eyes downcast in a show of sadness. Or at least what he thinks sadness is.

“Y-you’re ‘sorry’?” You ask incredulously. “Sorry?! For keeping me from processing the truth?! For making me a captive in my own head?? You’re FUCKING ‘sorry’?!” You don’t know if you’re yelling or not. You can’t even tell if you’re dreaming again anymore. Everything is spinning. Nothing makes sense.

“I am.” he states matter-of-factly “What I did, I did because I wanted to keep you safe. That’s why you made me, that was my whole purpose. But I’ve hurt you, and that’s something I never wanted to do. In my efforts to keep you safe, I became less of a protector and more of a warden. It wasn’t enough for me to keep you sedated with happy memories, I felt I needed to make sure you would never hurt again.”

“Why?” You spit out at him. 

“I don’t know.” He replies   
“What do you mean ‘you don’t know’?!”

“I mean just that. I don’t know. I don’t know when I became so obsessed in keeping you from the truth. I don’t know why I felt the need to make you stay inside and shut yourself away into your dreams. I just know that I had to do it. If no one else was going to protect you, I had to.”

“The world…”Omori starts off, before taking a moment to compose himself. “The world is a scary place. People are scary. At least to me, and probably to some extent you too. We can’t predict what they’re going to do, or say, or react. There’s so many things that can get us hurt physically or emotionally. In Headspace, that was different though. Everything is clear and upfront about what it is, what it’ll do and how it’ll act. Everything has a place and nothing is left to chance. Compared to your waking world, I felt you’d be safer with me in Headspace. So I wanted to bring you there. But you kept fighting me. You kept wanting to seek the truth no matter how many times I moved it, or hid it. I got more and more desperate and squeezed tighter on you.”

You’re stunned. He sounds...genuine. You expected him to do something horrible. To grab you and drag you kicking and screaming back into your head. Not this. Not a confession.

“What I did wasn’t right. How I reacted wasn’t right.” Omori continues “So please believe me when I say...I’m sorry.” 

He means it. Oh does he mean it. You can feel it. 

“...I...forgive you then.” You whisper out.

“Do you or are you just saying that?” He asks

“No...I mean it. Really. I get that you were trying to scare me back into your arms earlier. That’s not ok, but I understand what you were trying to do. I understand that people can be scary.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted you back. You’re practically my little brother.” Omori states with a little more emotion this time.  
“Wait, “little” brother? I’m older than you!” You argue

“You only look older than me. I’ve been around for a long while.” Omori shoots back

“Oh yeah? How old are you?”

“You shouldn’t ask people their age. That’s rude.”

“That’s only for girls! Don’t dodge the subject!”

“Fine...I am around...15,374 years old? Give or take a couple of centuries.” Omori blushes a little bit after his statement.

“I thought I made you?” You question

“I’ve been around for a while little brother. You weren’t the first Dreamer to call on me.” He actually looks proud of that.

“I am...so very confused. I thought I made up Headspace and all of that…” The room is spinning again. What made sense a little while ago now makes a new kind of non-sense.

“Headspace is older than you and me. A guy I met last week called Mr. Outback said it's at least 33,000 years old but it could even be older than that.”

“How do you know?” You question again

“I don’t.” Omori replies “Do you know how long your world has been around?”

“YES?? It’s taught in schools.” If you could roll your eyes right now, you would...but you’re still very dizzy.

“But what about before that?” Omori questions you

“What about before? The Earth didn’t exist. Or at least people didn’t.”  
“But if people didn’t exist, the World did, right?” 

“Yeah…?”

“So how do you know?”

“Scientists!”

“What, like the Slime Sisters?”

“No, actual scientists, not crazy squid mad scientists.”

“They’re still scientists.”

The two of you laugh. It’s a good and genuine laugh. Despite everything, you learned your “brother” does really care. It’s nice.

“Alright, I think I’ve taken up enough of your time for tonight.” Omori turns around in the mirror towards the door. It casts a bright light underneath it. “If you ever want to come back and see everyone, my door is always open little brother.”

“I can still do that?” You cock your head to the side, you figured after your fight, Headspace was forever closed to you.

“Of course you can.” Omori replies “You just have the ability not to drown yourself in delusions anymore. They’d like to see you too. Aubrey says she misses you.”

You blush a little at that. The fact that your childhood crush, manifested into a form that actually reciprocates that crush, is nothing short of...embarrassing.

“I...I’ll think about it...b-big bro.”

Now it was Omori’s turn to blush. “Uh..y-yeah. Sure. Sure! That’d be...nice.”

“So...what do I do now?” You ask. The room is still as dark as it was a while ago.

“Now? You need to wake up.” Omori responds.

“What do you--”

Your eyes shoot open. Daylight comes in through the windowsill. You take a second to reorient yourself. You were dreaming all this time.

You take a deep breath.

You grab your pillow.

And scream into it.

Today...today feels like it’s going to be a good day.


	6. The Scent of Jasmine and Osmanthus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a little bit of sad feels. Just a tiny amount. A drop really. Then an overwhelming amount of fluffy comfort to counter it.
> 
> Enjoy! :D

One more day, the sun reaches your bed. One more day, you’ve woken up in the hospital. The doctors and nurses say that you’ve been doing a lot better with your physical therapy. You’ve had to do it since you’ve been admitted due to your weak body. It helps a lot that your friends come visit and bring you food, because you would not have gotten this far on the nasty hospital food. You haven’t told them that though, hospital staff are really strict on the whole “outside food” thing, and you don’t want your friends to get frisked by the staff on their way to visit you.

They’ve also told you your eye is looking a lot better. Look is the key word. Although they haven’t said it out loud, you know that your eye will never work the same way again. During examinations, you can still see out of it, but not very well. It wouldn’t be something simple like glasses could fix. Which is a shame, because you think you’d look cool with a monocle. Maybe a suit. You like to think you’d make a great butler, or at least look like a great butler.

You’re brought away from your thoughts when you hear a gentle knock at the door. You know only one person who’d knock like that. Everyone else so far just comes in like they own the place, but not him. Even now, he’s still as gentle as he’s always been, the accident notwithstanding. You take a deep breath to collect yourself and say; “Come in.” as loud-ish as you can.

The first thing that hits you is the scent of fresh flowers. He must have brought them from his garden. He always smelled of flowers, but only faintly. Basil has come to visit. His golden messy locks practically shine in the sunlight. His hands, while only slightly dirty from working in the garden, hold an arrangement of flowers you don’t recognize. You try not to gush over him like you did with Kel.

Emphasis on try.

“Hi Sunny! I came to visit! H-how are you?” He was always a bundle of nerves, but it seems he’s been doing better considering he only stuttered once in that sentence.

“ ‘m fine.” You mumble out. You’re the palest of your friend group, but Basil was always a close second. His skin is like porcelain...or silk, considering how soft he looks. Are you blushing? You’re blushing. You can feel it. Calm down Sunny! It’s just Basil! Sweet, innocent, perfect Basil…

“Are you sure? Y-you don’t look fine right now. Are you running a fever?? Sh-should I call a nurse?!” Basil’s mind is clearly racing, jumping from one conclusion to the next. This is no time to crush on him, you need to calm him down. You get up from your bed, walk over, and grab him by the hand to bring him over to your bedside. You give him a firm but comforting look to let him know everything is fine, and that he doesn’t need to call anyone.

“Ahaha...Sorry. Force of habit…” Basil blushes “I, uh, brought you flowers!” he states, changing the subject. They’re Jasmine and Osmanthus!  
You give him a quizzical look. “Ah! I suppose I should explain then. W-welcome back to Basil’s Flower Facts!” He’s blushing even harder now, how long has he been working on that line. Dammit, he has no right to be this cute! Suppressing a giggle, you nod for him to continue.

“R-right! First, Jasmine. There are at least 200 species of Jasmine flowers! They’re native to Eurasia and Oceania, sometimes even considered a weed in Australia! They’re classified under the tribe Jasmineae and part of the Oleaceae family. The name Jasmine comes from the Persian word Yasameen which means “gift from God”. They represent friendliness, modesty, and simplicity! Kinda like you Sunny!” He beams at the end of his first half of his explanation. You make sure to listen. Honestly, you could listen to him ramble about flower facts for days. The way his eyes light up when someone asks him about flowers is...wonderful.

Seeing that he has your undivided attention he continues. “Osmanthus flowers are mostly native to Eastern Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea to name a few! They can usually be found in sizes from shrubs to small trees! They’re incredibly popular in parks and gardens and even have a city dedicated to them called Guilin! The name literally translates to “Forest of Sweet Osmanthus”. They’re known for their sweet smell, which some compare to peaches and apricots! They can also be made into tea! They...uh...they represent...ummm…”

He’s stalling. Usually he's ready to tell anyone and everyone the meaning of a flower, but for some reason he’s stalling. You’re unsure why. You feel...nervous? No, not nervous, something else. It's like there are butterflies in your chest, fluttering about.

“N-nevermind! Uh, I’ll get to that l-later!” Basil quickly drops the matter. You want to press it, but you also figure he’ll tell you when he’s ready. He’s so cute when he’s flustered...another slight blush creeps onto your cheeks.

“S-so! Uh, how are you?” He asks, again.  
“ ‘m fine…” You reply again.

Silence. Awkward silence.  
Basil tries to pick up the conversation again. “That’s...good! That’s good! Have, uh...the others come to visit you...yet?” Testing the waters, ever so gently. He was always so careful around others and their feelings.

“Kel...uh. Saw me the other day.” You mumble. “Before that...uh...the Bakery Twins and their brother Mikhael saw me.” You omit the night you were visited by your technically “twin brother”.

“That’s good...that sounds just like Kel…” Basil says, almost wistfully.

“How about you?” You question. “How have you been doing?”

“Uh...well! Kel’s been hanging out with me. So that’s a good thing! A-Aubrey has stopped bullying me...but I haven’t seen her a lot lately.” He looks downward. “I think she’s still...coming to terms with what happened. What we did.” You nod. You wouldn’t be surprised, neither of you really expected to be forgiven. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real.

“I-I…” Basil freezes up. You reach and hold his hand to let him know that he’s not alone. That everything is going to be ok. You hate to use that phrase, but in this case, you mean it.

“Thanks Sunny…” Basil collects himself. “I haven’t seen Hero since...uh...the confession. I know he said that he doesn’t blame either of us the day after you passed out, but...I still think he has a lot of...feelings to sort through.”

“I know.” You say. “I still don’t believe it myself.”

“R-right?” Basil stammers. “It’s like...I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?”

The both of you are trying not to cry right now. Emotions are high.

“S-sometimes I get nightmares…” Basil states. “The last one, uh...Aubrey broke into my hospital room and beat me with her bat…”

“Yeah...me too.” You reply. “But for me, Hero shoved me down the stairs.”

“I-is it weird that I wouldn’t blame them if they did that??” Basil asks.

“I don’t think it’s weird. But we have to remember...that they’ve honestly and truly forgiven us. They wouldn’t want us to beat ourselves up like this…” You tell him.

“Y-yeah...yeah!” Basil nods, wiping the tears that are forming from his eyes.

The two of you hug each other. Softly crying. Sometimes, emotions just have to come out. It’s ok to be sad. And you will make sure that you live up to your promise of sticking together with Basil. You left him once, but you’ll never leave his side again. You swear it.

After a few moments of just letting the emotions come out of you. The two of you finally let go. You kind of miss it though. He was as soft as you thought he would be. And he smells so sweet, like flowers.

Gosh you are trying not to crush so hard on him right now, but you can’t help it. He’s just too darn cute for his own good!

“S-so!” Basil exclaims. “I didn’t just bring you flowers. I also brought you something to eat as well! We both know just how bad the hospital food is…” He grimaces at the end of that sentence. 

He unwraps a small package that he was carrying. It’s cookies! They look homemade. 

“I uh...tried to make these myself! For you! But uh….well...I’m not so great with the other kind of “flower”. I had to get help from Miss Polly.”

W-was that a PUN?? From BASIL?! Did he just make a PUN JOKE to YOU?!

“Who are you and what have you done with Basil?” You look at him like he’s grown a second head.

“Was it that bad?” He asks

“No! But you never make puns!” You reply.

“I thought it was...punny…” He smirks 

GODDAMMIT WHY IS HE SO CUTE?!? He knows how much you like wordplay. That’s it, he’s perfect. There’s just no other way to say it.

“cookies please…” you mumble. Trying, and failing, to contain your laughter.

The two of you snack on the cookies Basil, and Miss Polly, made. They’re good. Maybe not Hero level good, but you can feel the love he put into them. They’re shaped like flowers.

Things got a little tense in the middle of the visit, but it was something that needed to be said. You both want to be there for each other, for both the good and bad times. You just nosh on the cookies and talk small talk.

Basil says he’s seeing a therapist, which is good.

You tell him your eye is healing nicely, which is also good.

Everything is good.

At some point in time, you end up dozing off in the comfy atmosphere. Basil would leave not too long after your nap, as you would not be up until tomorrow. Turns out having an emotional heart to heart with someone is exhausting work, who knew?

You don’t notice the little, tiny note underneath the flowers that Basil left you. Maybe sometime soon you will, but not now.

The note reads: “In the language of flowers, Jasmine and Osmanthus represent love and romance…” written in Basil’s cursive handwriting.

But that is a story for another time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I learned that apparently, my fic is in the recommended fic section of TVtropes?? That's super neat! Glad to see a bunch of people like my stuff!  
> Shoutout to the Omori Discord for getting me in the mood to do this! :D
> 
> Also the flower facts were brought from wikipedia, so I might have some stuff wrong. IDK, I'm not a flower encyclopedia. lol


	7. Change in Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A side chapter so to speak. This is centered around Aubrey because reasons. It was an idea I had and I figured I should extrapolate on it before the proper Aubrey chapter!  
> I hope you like. I was very tired but I wanted to write it.

Your name is Aubrey. Today, you are going to visit your friend Sunny in the hospital. You mean it this time. You meant it last time too but something came up, and before that you had to do something so you couldn’t make it that time either, and the time before that you were still sorting through your emotions so while you wanted to see him you didn’t trust yourself not to huck some hospital equipment out of a window out of frustration.

Perfectly normal girly reasons, you’re sure. You haven’t been stalling, nope, no sir.

Although before you get ready to go, maybe you should feed Bun-Bun one last time. Just to be sure.

And while you’re at it, maybe you should do your laundry? That pile is getting pretty big…

Oh, when was the last time you showered? It wouldn’t do any good to show up dirty!

Maybe you should try visiting Sunny tomorrow. You’ve got all sorts of things to do and--  
“Aub? Babe? You’re talking out loud again. You ok?” A girl's voice brings you out of your daze. Kim. That’s right. She’s been in your room since earlier this morning to help pep talk you into this. It seems like only yesterday (because technically it was…) that she convinced her mother to take you in, away from the sinking ship that was your old house. You can’t call it a home. It was never a home.

You moved in with only a single room’s worth of stuff. All of it fit into a large duffel bag. Except for Bun-Bun. He gets his own carrier. Kim and Vance and their mother welcomed you into their home like a long lost family member. They repurposed their mom’s old yoga room to be used as your new bedroom. A new bed. An ACTUAL bed. Not a mattress stacked on top of some milk crates like before. Clean sheets too. Kim and Vance’s mom is kinda strict on certain things, like her “organic food” and “healthy lifestyle” that she imposes on everyone, but she has a heart of gold. 

You focus back in. “I’m ok. Sorry Kim. I was just...uhhh…”

“Spiralling. The word you’re looking for is spiralling.” She finishes your sentence.

“Was it that bad?”

“Aubs. You were making up excuses not to go back to the hospital again. Bun-Bun’s poor stomach isn’t gonna be able to take anymore stress feeding from you if you keep at it.”

You look over at Bun-Bun. Sweet, soft...fat Bun-Bun. He’s snoozing in his enclosure. So peaceful.

“I know. I know. I just…It’s stressful y’know?” You respond.

“You wanna talk about it? Girl-talk about it?” Kim slides over on your bed and pats for you to sit down.

“Kim, I’m fine!” You protest.

“Bull. You haven’t been fine for a while. Now are you gonna sit down and lie on my lap or am I gonna have to get Vance to help?” She gives you a flat gaze, she’s not fucking around.

You sigh, walk over and plop yourself on the bed. You lie your head down into Kim’s lap, and she starts to play with your hair.

“Now, how about you tell Big Sis Kim aaaaalll your problems?”

“I’m older than you.” You mumble.

“Shush.” She puts her hand over your mouth. “No sass. Feels. It’ll make you feel better.” Her hand smells nice, must be that lotion you got her for your Month-a-versary.

You groan. You were never good at all this touchy-feely shit, but with her, you could never hide your emotions for long. She was your...emotional support bitch. Ever since you drifted away and back together with your old friends she was there for you. It was practically meant to be that you would get together.

“I just...I’m worried that I’ll flip my shit if I go there you know?”

“The whole “Sunny Incident” you told me about about a week ago?” She asks.

“Yeah. That.” A deep breath. A beat. You continue. “Did I ever tell you how much I appreciated you just listening to me vent that day?”

“All the time Aubs. All the time.” She nods as sagely as possibly as a delinquent could. 

“How about how much I love you and that you got your mom to house me here?”

“More times than I can count babe.” She smiles. “If nobody else got you, you know I got you right?”

“I know. That’s why I love you.” You smile back.  
“Now enough sweet nothings. You still need to tell me what’s on your mind.” A smirk. She saw through you trying to distract her. 

“Dammit. I thought that would work!” You complain

“Aubrey…” Oh no, full first name. Better get back to spilling out your heart to your girlfriend.

“Ok, ok!” You compose yourself. “It’s just like...I get it you know? I really do. Because I was only a few moments away from the same thing…” 

“Right. I remember. The day you locked yourself up at your old place.” Kim looks very seriously at you.

“I could have ended up just like him. I could have ended up just like Basil too. I was so mad and I forgot where we were for the briefest second of seconds and just...shoved Basil right into the lake. And then Sunny dove in, and they didn’t come back up.” A beat. A breath. Again. “All I could think was to run and hide. I fucked up. I wanted to be anywhere but there then. And then Hero came and pulled them out of the lake. Everything was fine right? They were alive, a little wet, but alive! I didn’t kill anyone!”

“But what if I did? Y’know? What if Hero didn’t make it? What if they both drowned?” You’re trying so hard not to cry right now. “Would I have done the same thing? Framed it as a suicide and hide away in my old room forever? The thought still terrifies me…”

A shaky breath. A beat. Again. “So I keep making excuses for going to see him, because I don’t know what I’ll do. I can’t be mad at him because I understand. But it still hurts, you know? I miss her. She was like the big sister I never had…” Kim keeps patting your head and playing with your hair. It feels nice, it keeps you grounded. “I wanna scream, hit something, anything but when I think back to a week ago, I just feel...I dunno, y’know? It’s like looking at a mirror. Or a crystal ball.” The tears finally start to flow, the dam has broken.

You feel yourself get wrapped up into a hug. Kim feels so warm. It’s nice. Comforting. You hug her back. You don’t break down sobbing uncontrollably or anything, but you feel safe knowing that you can let your guard down around her.

“Feel better?” Kim asks a little while later.

“Yeah. Thanks.” You give a half-smile and blush a little.

“Ah, it’s whatever Aubs! You know I got you. Ride or die.”

“Hell yeah bitch!” The two of you grin those punk-ass grins of yours. 

The two of you step out of your room and down to the kitchen to get something to eat. Being a sad girl makes you a hungry girl. Vance is in front of the tv, watching something. He just gives a wave, not taking his eyes off his program but acknowledging that you two are there.

“I swear, all Mom keeps in this house is kale and shit.” Kim grimaces.

“It could be worse.” You say. “But I agree, kale sucks.”

“Hang on, I think I got a Snickers or something stashed in one of these cupboards.” Kim starts digging around the kitchen for something more...palatable.

In the meantime, you just snag a yogurt from the fridge. Probiotics yo. 

“So.” Kim states in between bites of candy. “Anything else you wanna say before we head out?”

“What do you mean?” You ask.

“You know EXACTLY what I mean.” She replies with a smug grin.

“Kim, the FUCK are you talking about?” You feel mildly annoyed, like she’s insinuating something.

“Girl. Aubs. Aubey. Babe. Sweetie.” Each word punctuated with another bite of candybar. “I’m talking about your obvious crush on Sunny.”  
You spit out your yogurt onto the countertop. 

“Yoooooooo!” Vance comes rushing into the room. “We finally doing this? We finally talking about how Aubrey’s got the hots for that skinny kid?”

Oh God this is not happening. You’re redder than a tomato right now.

“Hell yeah bro.” Kim smirks. 

“Dope.” He fist bumps Kim.

“Nononononononono I am AB-SO-LUTELY NOT doing this right now!” You protest

“It’s two on one Aub. You don’t got a choice.” Vance quips.

“I will beat you two to death.” You threaten

“Babe. I know this. You know this. Everyone in Faraway knows this. It’s not a big secret.” Kim tries to soothe you, but she’s just being an asshole about it. Wait...EVERYONE KNOWS THIS??!

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN EVERYONE KNOWS?!”

Vance gives a quizzical look. “What do you mean “what do you mean”? It’s really obvious Boss! I think the only one who doesn’t know about it is Sunny himself!

“I mean. The way you used to light up when we first met when you talked about him was kind of a dead give away Aubs…” Kim says

“Or how about her Original Character’s Boyfriend that she drew that one time?” Vance replies

“Oh damn! I forgot about that!”

You want to die. No wait, scratch that. You’re gonna kill everyone, starting with these two, and THEN you’ll die.  
“Where the fuck is my bat?” You try to storm off but Vance grabs you into a bear hug. “LET ME THE FUCK GO VANCE!”

“Hey if it makes you feel any better, Kim has a crush on Kel.”

Silence. Somewhere, a pin drops.

“FUCK YOU VANCE YOU SAID YOU WEREN’T GONNA TELL ANYONE!” Kim screams

Vance drops you and you collapse on the floor howling with laughter.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, REALLY?! YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON KEL OF ALL PEOPLE?!?” Your sides are leaving the stratosphere as you speak.

“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UPPPPP!!!!” Kim screeches

“Kim, it was really obvious. I thought everyone knew.” Vance states matter of factly.

“NO?!” You wheeze out. “Wait...waitwaitwaitwaitwait...is THAT why you bully him so much!?? Because you have the HOTS for KEL??”

Kim doesn’t reply. She’s too busy trying to headbutt Vance, but her blows just glance off of his prodigious size.

“That’s it. This is the best day ever! I don’t care what anyone says!” You say between tears of laughter.

It takes a good...few hours for everything to calm down again. Things are thrown, threats are made, even more yogurt is spread around the kitchen. You end up putting things aside for the moment to clean up before Kim’s mom gets back, otherwise it’ll be Family Yoga Night for the next week...and nobody wants that.

After everything is put back to normal, Kim finally speaks. 

“Ok. Well. Now that...THAT’S all out there. I’m just gonna say it. Aubrey. You should tell Sunny how you feel.”

“But Kim. We’re already dating. Even if I told Sunny how I felt, isn’t it kinda unfair to you?” Bless this girl’s heart for looking out for you, but you are NOT gonna throw her under the bus like that. You love her too much to just toss her aside like a used candy wrapper.

“I’m ok with it though.” She tells you. “Look, we’ll talk to him about it, and if he’s cool with it and you’re cool with it we’ll all go out together, ok?”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” Kim truly is a gift that keeps on giving.

“Maybe you can even get Kel in on it…” Vance mumbles.

“VANCE!” Kim hucks a soggy paper towel at him.

You try very hard not to laugh. “Ok...ok...I’ll tell you what. I’ll talk to Sunny about it, if you talk to Kel about it.”

“What?! No this is about you!” Kim argues.

“It’s about you too Kim! We’re both part of this relationship, so we should both reach out to those we have crushes on!” Even if her taste in guys is...Kel. You can kinda understand though, he does have the family charm, in his own way.

Kim takes a breath, and nods. “Ok. I’ll talk to Kel when I see him if you talk to Sunny.”

“We’ll go together then?”

“Yeah, together.” Kim agrees. “For both Sunny and Kel.”

“I love you.”  
“Love you too Aubs.” 

“This is better than tv any day.” Vance comments.

“Vance, fuck off, I am TRYING to put the moves on my girlfriend!” Kim hucks another soggy paper towel at him.

“You can’t tell me what to do, you aren’t my dad!” Vance playfully bickers

“Hey Vance? If I give you twenty bucks to go buy me a romantic box of chocolates or some shit like that for me to give to Sunny, will you take the change and fuck off? Get yourself something nice?” You ask in as sweet a tone you can muster.

“I’ll be back later.” And with that, he’s off. Probably to use the change to get more candy.

“God, I love it when you throw money at your problems.” Kim swoons.

“Only for you, my love.” You flirt back.

Eventually, after making out with your girlfriend, Vance returns with a rather nice box of chocolates. Hard to believe it was under twenty, but you’ll take it!

“Wait...you didn’t eat any of this did you?” You ask.

“Come on, I may be a chocoholic but I have some manners.” Vance puffs his chest out.

“Aubs, ready to go?” Kim asks with a large bag in her arms.

“What’s with the bag?” You ask. These two always raise so many questions.

“Plan K.” Kim states.

“Didn’t you scrap “Plan K” because Kel--.” Vance starts to say.

“Nah, it’s not for Kel. I got a plan for it though.” Kim cuts him off. “Come on Aubs! We’re burning daylight!”

“We’ll be back later Vance!” With that, the two of you leave home and start to make your way to the bus stop for the hospital. You hold hands while you wait. It’s nice. She may drive you crazy sometimes, but she always knows what’s hurting you and she’s always there by your side. And you’ll be by her’s too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i only just now realized i dunno how to make text bigger or bold or anything when I paste it into the thingy. but at this point, i don't really care. as long as people like the stuff, that's good in my book. (i also hope that I made the relationship between Kim and Aubrey make sense and doesn't sound hokey? I don't really know much about relationships, I just write stuff that sounds good.)


	8. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a proper chapter. Just a message. And some personal concerns about the story??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try not to be too serious and bum everyone out, but I just need some perspective.

Hi hello. It me. Captain Trashman. Coming at ya with a super important news update or something.

So. First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for reading my fic. It means a lot to me. The nice comments are what gives me life. I really mean it.  
When I first joined the Omori Discord server, I had no idea if I was ever gonna do anything but just lurk around and gush over the game.  
Then I got to the Lost Library and got an idea. About Sunny getting nourished back to health, about forgiveness and moving on, about romance possibly.

And now I'm here.

For the most part, I don't really have any plans in my writing. I just think of an idea and go from there. It seems to work!  
But today, literally today, I woke up and thought; "Am I going...too crazy with the shipping?"

Don't get me wrong, each character has wonderful chemistry with each other in the game and out of the game in other's works of art or fiction. And I was thinking of just going with the whole polycule idea and running with it.  
But now I'm worried it's too clunky and cumbersome. That it doesn't make a lot of sense? I dunno, I've never been in a relationship before so I'm just kinda winging it.

I'll probably keep the chapters I've written so far, but maybe I'll focus the relationships? Instead of one gigantic polycule, just a bunch of separate ships? Like, some of them don't pan out, but the characters still did the things they did because they do feel that way, but sometimes things aren't meant to be with someone but they are meant to be with the other ones? That even though it doesn't work out with someone, they both understand and are willing to still be friends at least? I'm not sure yet. That's why I'm asking for some help.

If you guys think I should just stay the course and go full chaos mode, let me know.  
If you think I should focus on specific ships, what ones would you like to see?  
The praise and positive comments are wonderful, and I want them to keep coming, but I need some input this time. I want this to be a good story.

Really, that's all I want. To make a story people like. I'm not looking to make a tour de force here, but I am looking to make a story that people like and will think of fondly every now and then.

Thanks for listening to me vent. It means a lot. I really appreciate you all. Have a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Extra note since it's later and I've had some time to look at all your comments.)
> 
> Well dang. It seems all of you are of the same opinion that I just go full chaos mode. That's good to hear! I was just worried earlier, self-doubts and all that jazz. I might just be tired or something, so it's real easy for bad thoughts to run wild when I'm not at my best. I haven't gotten any negative comments or anything about my writing, it was all just my brain beating me up as per usual in my life.
> 
> Thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate it. I just wanted to make sure that I was writing something that people would enjoy and clearly, I have!
> 
> Very well. It's decided. Polycule route go! I'll do my best to make you all a story you enjoy!  
> and again. thank you all so much. you're all such wonderful people.


End file.
